October 26

1958 Bill Haley And His Comets played the first Rock ‘n’ Roll concert in West Berlin where riots broke out among the 7,000 fans.

1965 The Beatles are awarded the prestigious MBE (Members of the Most Honorable Order of the British Empire ) medal at Buckingham Palace. Many former recipients gave theirs back in protest.

1984 19 year old John D. McCollum shot himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. A year later, McCollum’s parents sued Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song “Suicide Solution” contributed to their son’s death. The suit was eventually dismissed.

1991 Legendary Rock concert promoter Bill Graham was killed when the helicopter he was riding in struck the top of a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission tower and exploded. Graham had founded the Fillmore theaters in San Francisco and New York and had played key roles in supporting such bands as The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, The Band, Bob Dylan, The J. Geils Band, The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones.

1994 Wilbert Harrison, famous for his 1959 chart-topper “Kansas City”, suffered a stroke and died at the age of 65.

1999 Hoyt Axton diedat his ranch at the age of 61. He wrote Three Dog Night’s “Joy To The World” and “Never Been To Spain” as well as Ringo Starr’s “The No No Song” and The Kingston Trio’s “Greenback Dollar”. His mother, Mae Buran Axton, wrote Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”.

2016 The draft of a letter that John Lennon sent to Queen Elizabeth to return his MBE (Member of the British Empire) that he received as a member of the Beatles, was revealed at a Fab Four exhibition in Liverpool. The anonymous owner of the letter discovered it within the sleeve of a used record they bought for 10 Pounds. A memorabilia expert put the value of the letter at roughly $72,000.